The present invention relates generally to instrument sterilization apparatus and methods and, in a preferred embodiment thereof, more particularly provides an improved cassette device for use in sterilizing dental and surgical instruments or the like.
Dental and surgical instruments or the like are conventionally sterilized by placing them in a box-like storage structure typically referred to as a "cassette". The cassette, with the instruments to be sterilized suitably supported therein, is placed in an appropriate sterilizer and subjected to a flow of sterilizing fluid such as steam or hot air.
Many currently available cassettes used in the sterilization and storage of dental surgical instruments do not provide for the entry of the sterilizing fluid into the interior of the cassette. Accordingly, the overall instrument sterilization time is undesirably increased. As an alternative to this type of completely enclosed sterilization cassette, various proposals have been made to form the cassette from wire mesh, or other perforated wall structures, thereby permitting substantially unimpeded throughflow of sterilization fluid through the interior of the cassette. However this "open" type of instrument sterilization cassette, though greatly diminishing the total sterilization time for the instruments, carries with it other disadvantages and limitations.
For example, due to its "open" construction, the typical wire mesh cassette rapidly permits the contamination of the sterilized instruments when the cassette is removed from the sterilizing chamber and placed in a storage location. To eliminate this serious limitation in conventional wire mesh cassettes, or in other "open" type cassettes, it has heretofore been necessary to wrap the cassettes, after the instruments to be sterilized have been placed therein, with a suitable gauze material which permits a throughflow of sterilizing fluid, yet is essentially impermeable to airborne contaminants to which the cassette is exposed once it is removed from the sterilizing device and placed in a storage location.
This previous necessity of pre-wrapping the open construction cassette adds to the overall cost of the sterilization process, increases the sterilization time, and presents a rather tedious task which must be performed in conjunction with the sterilization of each batch of instruments. Additionally, the gauze material must be unwrapped from its associated stored cassette, and discarded, when it is desired to use the sterilized instruments positioned in the wrapped cassette.
It can be seen from the foregoing that it would be highly desirable to provide an instrument sterilization cassette of essentially "open" construction, to provide for a substantially unimpeded throughflow through the cassette of sterilizing fluid, which need not be pre-wrapped for subsequent instrument storage purposes.